A semiconductor sluice assembly regulates the controlled movement of semiconductor chips through a guide called a "slide" into and from a magazine called a "tube". The slide includes a bottom guide and a top guide to prevent movement of the semiconductor chips other than into or from the tube i.e. to prevent movement other than in-line with the slide. When the semiconductor chips are out of their leadframe (the carrier of the semiconductor chips), they have to be moved individually. For example, they must be moved individually after they are separated from their leadframe in the separation tool. This movement can be done by air-jet, mechanically, by gravity or by a combination thereof. For example, the semiconductor chips are moved out of the separation tool mechanically to the slide after which gravity takes over to move the semiconductor chips. At critical points, air-jets are placed to help gravity. Such critical points include where the semiconductor chips have to be moved from a zero velocity situation (like in the sluice assembly), or where semiconductor chips can jam each other (like the points where semiconductor chips are collected to batches or because of mispositioning of parts) (like the movement of the semiconductor chip in the slide into or from the tube).
The maximum speed of existing semiconductor chip processing systems using a sluice assembly is often limited to the speed of the sluice assembly. This is particularly problematic in systems in which the sluice assembly has to handle one semiconductor chip at a time, e.g., on- and offloaders for testers, onloaders for packing systems; offloaders for trim & form systems, etc. The processing system is too slow. Moreover, in some conventional systems, the semiconductor chips are held in the sluice assembly until there is a batch with a certain number, for example, off-loaders for trim & form systems. This gives the sluice assembly enough time to operate. The semiconductor chips move into the tube when the batch is full. Unfortunately, the number of semiconductor chips in the tube is a multiple of the number per batch. With multiple batches, the number of semiconductor chips in the tube cannot be equal to a prime number. Moreover, sensors may detect that there are semiconductor chips passing into the tube but cannot detect how many. Therefore, there may be one or more semiconductor chips jammed and undetected on the slide. In addition, the semiconductor chips push up against each other, risking jamming.
Accordingly, there has been a need for a novel semiconductor sluice assembly and method that let through one by one at least one semiconductor chip through the sluice assembly. There is a further need for a sluice assembly and method that operate at high speed to permit the handling of one semiconductor chip at a time without limiting the speed of the system. Such a sluice assembly and method are also needed in which the number of semiconductor chips in the tube is a multiple of one so any number of semiconductor chips, including prime numbers, is possible. Additionally, a sluice assembly and method are needed so that only one semiconductor chip exits the slide at a time so that if the sensor detects that a semiconductor chip has gone into the tube, one knows there is no semiconductor chip jammed in the slide. Further, a sluice assembly and method are needed which substantially eliminate the risk of semiconductor chips jamming in the slide by pushing up against each other. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides other related advantages.